"Do you normally make-out with the people you're hired to kill? It doesn't strike me as very professional."
"Put the gun down," Gabriel panted, not answering her.
"Why on earth would I do that?"
"Because you're not going to shoot me," Gabriel rep...
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Ash paced along the living room of their rental. They had found a place on Airbnb - a two-bedroom apartment only a few blocks from a Metro stop - and booked it for the week under one of Ash's fake identities. They had put the full bill on "Penelope's" credit card since Gabriel and Levi's were undoubtedly both being tracked, but that was fine. If Ash couldn't pay "Penelope's" bill, "Penelope" would just disappear.
If Ash was even still alive by the time the bill was due.
It was still early - barely 9 o'clock. Levi had passed out in one of the bedrooms shortly after they arrived, and Gabriel had gone to take a shower. Which left Ash alone with her thoughts in the living room. And Ash's thoughts were turning out to be overwhelming.
Rin was right - she did use people. But everyone used people, didn't they? The ends justified the means, just like Machiavelli said. What she was doing was important. If some people had to be sacrificed, that was a price worth paying.
So then why did she feel so guilty?
Because you're weak, she told herself. You're weak, and pathetic, and the only thing you should feel ashamed of is how soft you've become. You shouldn't even be staying with Levi and Gabriel right now - their cover has been blown, yours hasn't.
But Gabriel and Levi knew the company. And they were on her side. For now. She never really trusted anyone, because people would always stab you in the back to save themselves.
At least she would.
Was that wrong?
Ash put her hands on her head, wanting to rip out her hair but settling on just pulling it. She had too many feelings, too many thoughts, too many questions. She couldn't take it. She needed silence. She needed a distraction.
She needed Gabriel.
As soon as the idea crossed her mind, Ash knew she had the perfect solution. Sleeping with Gabriel had been the only two times in the past week where she had been at peace. She needed to stop thinking, and he was so good at wiping her mind blank.
Her mind made up, she went into the master bedroom of the apartment and sat on the bed, waiting for Gabriel to emerge from the shower. As she waited, her thoughts kept spiraling. She was going to fail and they were all going to die. All because of stupid mistakes she made. All because she was too much of an idiot to figure this out on her own.
"Is everything okay?" Gabriel asked, startling her.
She looked over at him. He was shirtless, his hair and body still glistening from the shower. This was the third time she had seen him immediately following a shower, and he somehow became more attractive every time.
"No," Ash murmured.
"What's wrong?" he asked, crouching down and putting one of his hands on her shoulder. "What do you need?"
